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XIAO HE / Who's afraid of Modern Opera part I

Xiao He (CN) / COM.POST #17

Xiao He is a Chinese talent who specializes in vocals and string instruments as incorporated into highly performative stage shows. Besides his work with the dadaistic art-rock group, Glorious Pharmacy, he is also engaged in numerous experimental (improv) solo performances, and collaborations with musicians from the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe, among others. "The music emerges from my body. I never know exactly what I'm going to do before I go on stage," He points out."Music for me is as natural as eating, sleeping, or going to the bathroom."

Xiao He hates artificiality and has expressed his affinity for folk music and culture. He is not unlike a troubadour who accompanies himself on acoustic guitar. But he also explores various electronic options and does not reject the use of samples and loops. Many of his songs lack lyrics and are &ldquo;sung&rdquo; in a &ldquo;bird language,&rdquo; which offers him some room to pursue his vocal antics. Meanwhile, some of his other songs sound like hundreds of chanting monks where the overtones emerge from the prevailing lower tones. When he does use lyrics they are often playful and theatrical. His successes are found in the unsuccessful. Regarding the fusion of Chinese and Western music, he once observed that "while combining a bed and a toilet may seem like a good idea so that one can shit in bed and sleep on the toilet, in actuality, the results are a bit disappointing."